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Glad you are here!

You can find all kinds of things about preparedness here on this blog. You can find out about the LDS church. You can follow some home education links and get inspired. Watch as I work on organizing and updating regularly. If I can be of assistance to you in your preparedness efforts, please check my profile and find my email there, and I will be glad to help.

Have a great Christmas! Remember prepping items in your last minute purchases!

Today While The Sun ShinesIssue #3December 2016

This issue of Today While The Sun Shines, I want to share some tidbits of preparedness info with you.This newsletter is made up of those tidbits that perhaps we didn't know, or we have forgotten, or whichmight give us that “aha” moment!

This info can be helpful if you know you have 10 buckets of wheat, 8 buckets of beans and 4 buckets ofrice. It kind of gives you an estimate of poundage. 350 lbs of wheat, etc. Etc. Now it will be easier foryou to do your inventory and have an approximate amount of just what you have on hand.

Instead of throwing out your empty laundry jugs, fill them with water and label them as wash water.The little bit of soap in the bottom of the jug will be enough in an emergency to use as washing clothes,dishes, hands, floors, etc. You won't be using up valuable stored drinking water to keep things clean.Make sure you label them with a black marker in big letters NOT drinking water, wash water. Not thatanyone will drink it after it pours out full of bubbles, but you never know with kiddos.

Always keep a flashlight and a pair of shoes by your bed. The flashlight can even be on your phone, itdoesn't really matter. If you have to exit your home in the middle of the night and the power is out forsome reason, the flashlight will be a life saver. The pair of shoes will keep your feet safe if there aredowned trees or broken glass or other items that might be hazardous.

Never store plastic buckets or water containers on a cement floor. Plastic will leach the toxins out ofthe cement and can contaminate the food or water that is in the buckets or containers. Always makesure you store food in food grade containers. It would be a shame if you worked so hard to gather foodstorage and had to toss it because it became contaminated. It is worth the little bit of extra to have goodstorage containers.

Keep your vehicle gas tanks on the upper side of half. If you ever had to evacuate, you want to makesure you have enough gas to get where you need to be. Also, if there were ever a gas catastrophe suchas a major gas pipeline break, where gas shortages occur, or anything of that sort, you will fare muchbetter if you have a full tank of gas. Many of the people evacuating Fort McMurray during the fire,didn't have much in their gas tank, and ran out of gas after sitting in long line ups, and never reachedtheir destination. They had to wait for someone to come along and give them gas to refill. Stay on theupside of half.

Monthly To Do List:• $2 per week / person in your household, tuck it away for emergency cash• Invest in a water filter, either one that will do large amounts for your family, or a smaller waterfiltration bottle for each member in your family. It might be a great Christmas gift, just saying!• Gather together baking supplies this month – baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, salt,vanilla, cooking sprays, flour• Batteries, matches, lighters, flashlights, lanterns, candles• Bigger possible purchases this time of year – generators are usually on sale, wheat grinders,things like that – buy yourself a Christmas present that makes sense• Buy your family and / or yourself a good emergency preparedness book for Christmas. Or printout articles, pdf's etc and create your own special prep book for your family to have. My planfor this Christmas is to create within my own family and my personal extended family, a familyof resourceful people, each person taking on one form of preparedness and specializing in thatarea, being a resource person for our family to be better prepared. When we meet as a resourcegroup once a month, we can share what we have learned. We will start in January. I am tellingyou this because I am creating a book that can begin to compile these resources and that will bepart of my family Christmas this year. Shhh, if you are in my family.• Inventory condiments, spices, and extras like vinegar, etc.• Enjoy a simplified Christmas, don't lose the real meaning of what it is all about• Gather your favorite Christmas recipes. You should be starting to have quite a collection ofyour favorite recipes by now. Keep it growing

December Weekly To do List:Week 1• $2 per person, per week, tuck away into your emergency cash fund. You should start to see itgrowing now. Exciting right?• Research and compare some prices of water filtration options• Purchase vanilla and cooking spray• Purchase batteries for your flashlight, and if you don't have a flashlight, you should get one.There really should be a flashlight beside each bed in your home, in case emergencies happen inthe middle of the night and the power is out• Buy, download or print out, or organize an emergency preparedness book you want. Take alittle time to organize your resources, meaning books, so as to find information easily when youare looking for something

Week 2• $2 per person, per week, tuck away into your emergency cash fun• Purchase the water filters that you have found to be the best for your situation• To buy this week would be cornstarch, salt, and any mixes you use often• Matches, lighters, candles• Inventory your spices and condiments• Organize your favorite Christmas recipes

Week 3 and Week 4• Take time to relax and enjoy Christmas and the true meaning and Spirit of Christmas.• As you are doing last minute presents, remember small preparedness items, and food storageitems that will be something your family treasures.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Yes! Being prepared will help you get through life's emergencies,
and most often we talk about it in this way. Be prepared for
emergencies, disasters, and challenges of life. In reality,
"Preparedness" needs to become our way of life. It needs to become a
part of who we are, in what we think and all we do.

We
need to become more self reliant and less reliant on government, jobs,
and other agencies and people. How about asking yourself questions each
time you do something, or buy something, like:

"Is
this helping me live a more self reliant, prepared life? Or is it
something that won't matter two, five or ten years from now?"

"Instead
of buying one or two cans of whatever is on sale, why not buy ten, then
you won't have to buy it again, until it comes on sale again." Also,
you are building your 3 month supply this way.

I know
we need to prepare for those big emergencies, but keep in mind, the
daily living things we need to be thinking about like:

Job layoffs

Family Emergencies

Sickness

Localized emergencies

Drought

Financial setbacks

Government shutdowns

Delays in food distribution

Medical emergencies and long-term
needs

Financial realities

Outside influences that keep us where we are

For years, I’ve wanted to move to a homestead out in the
country, far from the maddening crowds, raising my own food, working
alongside my family in developing skills that allow us to thrive.

However, my reality is far from that. I’m tied to the area I’m
in because I have family who need me to be here to help them in their
own life. I have a husband who is obliged to remain at his job.
Moving away would mean him being on the road for all of his free
time, and none of us want that. We live in a suburb on a small plot
of land and cannot raise our own meat, but we persevere by doing as
much as we can with what we have.

Your reality doesn’t mean that you can’t live a prepared
lifestyle to the best of your abilities and use your talents where
God has planted you for this season of your life. My hope is that you
embrace that, do what you can do, and be prepared.

On a side note: For those of you who have embraced this life, but
still feel the shame of the label some try to put on you, DON'T. If
you are doing your best to be productive, to protect your family, to
provide for your family, and to prepare for your family in every way
that you can in the area you have been planted on during this season,
know that no label defines you. You aren’t less because you can’t
be called a homesteader, you aren’t less because some label you a
prepper (because this lifestyle isn’t about being a prepper), and
you aren’t less because you haven’t embraced the call of a world! Who says that you cannot be different. Have faith!

BE DIFFERENT! Live the life of being prepared. It brings a peace of mind that can be found nowhere else!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Sprouts
are one of those things that as seeds have an indefinite shelf life,
but are a live food. They are inexpensive, super packed with
nutrition, will grow in any climate, any time of the year, don't need
soil, rivals tomatoes in Vitamin C, and takes very little preparation
or clean up.

An
incredible story about the value of sprouting:

FROM
A 1977 FOOD STORAGE FIRESIDE IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIAA
BISHOP’S EFFORT TO PREPARE

“This
is the story of one bishop, amongst many other leaders and members,
all who playedan important and tireless, behind-the-scene role in
the development of the Church’s FoodStorage Program. Bishop
West put forth considerable effort to first set his own house in
order,after which he labored helping the members of the ward he
presided over to prepare. Therewere many mistakes and much to be
learned, but what was learned has proven to be an asset to many of
the Saints today.

In the fall of 1977, Jack H. West was asked
to give firesides in the Sacramento, California, area on the subject
of food storage because of the part he played in its
on-goingdevelopment. Some of Bishop West’s comments are taken
from notes recorded in one of those firesides.

Bishop West
indicated that he was “set apart as the first bishop of Glendora
Ward” andimmediately set about doing surveys to determine who
in the ward had adequate food storage. The results indicated that
“less than 5% of our people had even a year’s supply of food,”
let alone a two-year’s supply. In order to set a leadership
example, he discussed with his wife that: “Maybe we had better set
the pace for the rest of the ward.” The results were that there
shortly appeared “two giant trucks and trailers” turning into his
driveway, sufficientto meet the needs of feeding a “family of
eight” for two years. And I said, “You’rekidding--we can’t
possibly be eating that much food.” Well, she took me to a
full-lengthmirror and turned me side-ways and I didn’t have any
more questions.

What his family found out was that not only
did they have a great deal of canned food buta lot of frozen food
as well, especially meat. He said they immediately began experiencing
anumber of problems. A freak loss of power in the Glendora area
resulted in the loss of theirmeat. They then faced the problem of
how to organize and rotate cases of food that were“stacked nine
feet high.” To correct this problem he built shelves and: . . .
angled the 2 x 4's just exactly one can apart and we’d fill those
slanted units with the cans of food. Then when we pulled a can out
from the bottom, every can rotated like they had asked us to do.

But
with this type of storage, the problem was that he never could tell
how many cans were left. Another problem which became apparent was
that Sister West could only estimate how much of any given food they
would use in two years, and so: . . . the first thing we knew, we
were using more of one thing than another. . . . Well, it did not
work.

As Brother and Sister West checked, they determined that
their diet became very unbalanced. Procrastination resulted in a
failure to replace used products as they should have, bringing: . . .
bulging cans everywhere you looked. . . . The first thing you know,
the whole thing was completely shot to pieces. . . .

Well, I
went back to the [ward] welfare Committee and said, “Look, one of
the things the Word of Wisdom tells us to do (and that’s the direct
word of the Lord) is to use the food in the season thereof. We are
using two-year-old food constantly in times of non-emergency and I
just couldn’t believe that was the program the Lord had in mind for
us.” So I said, “Let’s fast and pray about this thing--we’ll
get the whole ward to fast and pray about it and see if we can come
up with some better answers for a year’s supply of food, or even a
two year’s supply.”

So we did, and then we started to
search the scriptures, of course, and we found in some 72 places, as
I remember, it mentioned the “land flowing with milk and honey”
as the ideal land. So we made note of that--we marked down milk and
honey--there might be something to that. And then we went to the Word
of Wisdom and we found that the staff of life was “grain” . . .
particularly “wheat for man.” So we went to the scriptures again
and we found if the “salt has lost its savor” . . . We marked
down salt as maybe an important thing.” [Surprisingly, they didn’t
include olive oil, which is also in the scriptures.]

Bishop
West was acquainted with two well-known dietitians and wrote to them,
asking, “What would you think about it, if we were to use four
basic foods as an emergency supply-- wheat,
honey, salt, and milk?” They wrote back and said: “You’ve just
about hit the jackpot. There is just one thing you’d be low on and
that is vitamin C, and that you’d be dangerously lowon.” So
we went to vitamin C tablets.

As it turned out, vitamin C
tablets do not have a long shelf life, so Bishop West
reviewedvarious alternatives as they tried to find a suitable
source for vitamin C; in relationship to this he related the
following incident:

Then I was over in Mesa, Arizona, one day
and--have you ever seen someone walking toward you on the street that
you were just absolutely certain had died two years before? That was
a real thrill. I saw this young fellow walking toward me who was all
hunched over the last time I had seen him and his bones were knurled
and he looked like death itself and he told me that he had less than
two months to live. Well, here he was walking towards me hale and
hearty and straight as an arrow. I said, “Ted, is that really you?”
He said, “Yes, it is me.” He was the brother-in-law of one of my
counsellors in the bishopric. I said, “What in the world saved your
life?” He said, “Wheat greens.” I said, “What? Wheat
greens--What does wheat
greens have in it that would save your life?”

He
said, “It is the highest known source of vitamin C in assimilable
form for the humansystem.” And I said, “Great Scott, that’s
an answer to prayer! We have been looking forsomething that would
give us vitamin C and here we’ve had the wheat
all the time.” Yougrow greens as you need it from the wheat
you have on hand.

He then went on to relate that he had a
friend, Anne Wigmore, Ph.D., MD, and DD, whohad written a book
called Wheat
Grass--God’s Manna, who told him how to grow wheat
grass. He then called his two dietitian friends who confirmed the
value of using wheat
grass, especially as it relates to vitamin C.

A cousin of
Bishop West, Elder Harold B. Lee, wrote to him several times
requestinginformation on the four basics. Bishop West
notes:

When he became President of the Church he twice asked
for more literature. Just before he passed away, he completely
changed his mind from asking people to get a year’s or a two-year’s
supply of their normal food, and rotate it, to reversing his field
and coming back to the identical four basics that we had found worked
so beautifully.

Out
of the prayerful and persistent effort that Bishop West and his ward
put forth came anorganized, functional food storage plan which
became a part of the cornerstone in the Church’s current food
storage program.”

What
an incredible story! Even if you feel like you would never use the
wheat in your buckets in your basement, you wouldn't grind them and
make bread, or you have a gluten intolerance so would never use it,
you could always SPROUT it! What a relief to know that you could grow
your own greens and not only survive, but thrive by using wheat, and
wheat grass.

There
is no better survival food than sprouts. Do your own research if you
don't believe me. You will find that as soon as a seed has sprouted,
it immediately increases the food value of that particular food,
exponentially.

You
can eat sprouts on sandwiches, in soups, in salads, in stir frys, and
so many other forms of cooking. You can eat them just raw by the
handfuls. They are wonderful and delicious.

General
Sprouting Method:

Soak
beans in a large glass jar, over night. Place a small piece of
screen or cloth over the mouth, secured with an elastic band. Drain
off water and rinse again and drain. Let sit on counter out of the
direct sunlight. Rinse twice a day until the desired sprouting is
finished.

Pretty
basic right? You can pay a ton for a fancy sprouter, or use a mason
jar. Either way you will get the desired sprouts. Do a little
research on the best times for certain seeds to eat, for they are not
all best sprouted the same amount of time. Some are better after
only a day or two, and some after a week or so.

November
Monthly To Do List:

$2
per week / person - store away for emergency cash on hand –
remember that container that has the lid glued on? Use it weekly,
adding in $2 per week, per person in your home. Keep it in a spot
so you remember to do it, but also one that won't advertise to
everyone that you have it.

Add
another 14 gallons of water per person to your water storage

Take
this month to add sugars to your storage – brown sugar, white
sugar, honey, molasses, syrups of all types, icing sugar, or any
other types your family may use

Add
things like a snow shovel, a new broom or mop and bucket

Winter
clothing, space heaters, winter boots, hand warmers, foot warmers –
These have a really long shelf life. Even though it doesn't say so
on the package, I have many of these that are almost ten years old
and they still work!

Create
a place near the door for the winter clothing, with high hopes of
keeping mittens, hats, scarves, etc all together and easy to find,
and easy to return to when you come in from the cold

Inventory
your breakfast foods, baking supplies, beans and proteins, paper and
plastic products. Get a thick notebook to keep inventory notes, and
to purchase notes in. Each week you will be inventorying items and
figuring out what you need to purchase. Keep notes on all of these
things, for your own knowledge, but also if your husband or kids
want to help out, you will all be working together and not repeating
each other

Gather
recipes for breakfast foods, and proteins like beans. Hopefully by
now you have started gathering your recipes and organizing them into
a binder with sections. Remember this isn't just another recipe
book. This book is to place your favorite recipes, as well as the
ones that are great for food storage, ones that you will always turn
to.

November

Weekly
To Do List:

Week
1

Set
aside $2 per person in your cash fund

Add
water to your water storage, at least 3 gallons per person

Purchase
white sugar, and honey

Make
sure you have a good snow shovel, and a winter coat

Create
a space near a door for all of your winter clothing and supplies

Add
any extra water you need to make the 14 gallons of water per person
for this month

Purchase
any extra sugars you would like to add to your food storage

Purchase
or find your space heaters and have them prepped and ready in case
of any power outages during winter storms

Purchase
hand and foot warmers and have them in your winter location for
mittens etc

Inventory
your paper and plastic products like: paper plates, utensils, cups,
napkins, paper towel, toilet paper. These things are very important
in case of power outages when water for washing might be scarce.
Throw away is a good thing in an emergency situation.

Sprouted
Lentil Vegetable Soup

First take the time to sprout whole
green or brown lentils. Make sure they are not the small red cracked
lentils. The seed needs to be whole, not split or your attempt at
sprouting them will simply turn to mush and mold. Soak and sprout
them until they have a nice tail sprout on them about 1/4 inch long.
At this point you can allow them to dry, either by sitting on the
counter spread out on a sheet, or in a dehydrator, or a freeze drier.

Why would you let them dry? Because
then they are ready to use in any recipe calling for lentils, and
they have the exponential nutrients because the sprouting has
activated them.

Okay now for the soup.

2 cups of sprouted lentils, either
fresh or dried

1/2 cup chopped onions or sub with
dried onions

1/2 cup chopped celery or dried celery

1/2 cup chopped carrots or dried
carrots

1 clove minced garlic

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

1 quart of tomatoes canned, or large
can of diced tomatoes

Extras
you could add in:

pasta, rice, beef or chicken bouillon
or other vegetables, make dumplings to add on top

Bring all ingredients to a boil and
simmer for about 1 hour until all lentils and vegetables are tender.
If you add in pasta, don't add in until the last ten minutes or it
will mush.

Serve with crackers, biscuits, toast,
or fresh made buns.

Super nutritious, super inexpensive,
and super easy to make. Super delicious and it will likely become
one of your family's favorites.

Quite a
few years ago, I started a blog called Today While The Sun Shines. I
chose this title, specifically for this words to the song that we
often sing at church. Here are the words to the chorus:

Today,
today, work with a will;

Today,
today, your duties fulfill.

Today,
today, work while you may;

Prepare
for tomorrow by working today.

As I was
thinking what I would title this newsletter, I had to go back to that
theme, because I believe it is even more relevant now than it was ten
years ago. We need to work with a will, fulfill our duties, and
prepare for tomorrow, today!

A recent
talk by Elder Ballard, in a large regional conference in Utah, he
stated this:

"My
beloved brothers and sisters, we are charged to prepare the Church
for those days that will surely come if the people in the world
continue to ignore and disregard God our Heavenly Father and His
Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are clear on the
consequences of turning away from God." by Elder Ballard

I say
Amen to his talk. We need to prepare today, for what tomorrow will
bring, for it is surely coming. We are not going to be able to
escape it. We must prepare for it.

Each
monthly newsletter I send from here on out will have a monthly
checklists, or a weekly checklist, depending on what works for you,
both contain the same information, just broken down a bit more. With
all of them, I hope to give you a comprehensive yet basic look at
preparedness in the home.

Where
do I even begin? It is so overwhelming!

Whether you are an avid preparedness
guru, or are just at the beginnings, or somewhere in between, advice
is always the same, just start, or just start again, or just keep
moving forward. For we all have times where we just forget, or get
tired, or get sidetracked. The steps to starting, regardless where
you are in your journey of preparedness, can be simple and
inexpensive. They don't need to be huge or extravagant.

Below are a few ways to get your
family started on the road to preparedness, which will soon become a
way of life if you continue to do:

Take a deep breath, allow your knees
to hit the floor, (the starting position), and ask for help. Then
get up and start doing something. It is easier for the Lord to help
you when you are moving forward. Let me tell you a short story. I
have always been one who believes in being prepared. It has been a
way of life for me since I was a little girl. One day, about ten or
so years ago, I had been to the Temple in Cardston, after which I
stopped at the book store and picked up a book about dehydrating. I
was keenly feeling it. I need to kick my preparedness efforts into
high gear again, but I just didn't know how I was going to
accomplish it, as we didn't have the financial resources to buy a
lot of stuff. BUT, I had a willing heart! On the way home, I said
a small prayer, mostly to myself and told Heavenly Father if He
would put food in front of me, I would do all I could, to preserve
it, and make use of it for my family. Seriously, not two minutes
after I said that prayer my cell phone rang with a dear friend
telling me she had more apples than she needed, and would I come and
pick them. The calls continued almost daily. To this day, the
resources He places in front of me have never stopped. However, I
must note..... I do the work, I often do the research to find
sources, and I must add in again, I AM WILLING TO DO THE WORK, no
matter how exhausting it might be, I work today, to prepare for
tomorrow, always. It is just a way of life. If opportunities come
about, I work.

Stop with the wailing and gnashing of
teeth, yes we all do it to some degree. We find every excuse
possible to not do what we are supposed to be doing. He can't open
the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings on us, if we are
excusing away those blessings. I hear them all of the time, so I am
here today, and tomorrow, to help you take away those excuses. Work
today, to prepare for tomorrow, because when the world chooses
wickedness, WE need to be prepared, for “swiftly cometh the
judgments of God.” If you have an extra room in your house full of
junk, wahoo for you! Get rid of the junk and turn it into a useful
storage room. If you have an empty closet, space under a bed, a
heated garage, cupboards up high full of useless stuff, well you get
my meaning, then you have space. If you don't have the financial
means, then see where you can cut back and make it a priority in
your home. We all have cell phones, large tv bills, eating out
habits, etc etc, all which can be juggled to find the means. It is
a matter of priorities. If you want it, make it a matter of prayer
and figure out how to do it. I promise you I have heard all the
excuses, and there isn't one that I can't help you overcome in some
way. YOU CAN DO IT! Just decide.

The empty pop bottles that are
kicking around your house.... see them all? You know the ones that
some day you are going to take in for that ten cent return? Wash
them out and fill them with water. Find an empty spot in your
closet, or under a bed, or in the laundry room, or behind a tv, or
up in the top corner of a cupboard that nobody can reach and has
been filled with stuff that never gets used. We all have spaces
like that, so make those dead, empty spaces useful. Pop bottles will
last for years filled with water. Just go do it, and forget about
them. There, now you have started! It is a simple step, so just do
it. If you don't have empty pop bottles, every other week, buy a
case of bottled water and stash it. Go to Costco and pick up one of
their 3L blue jugs of water and stash it. If you do that every
other week, you will soon see your water supply building. And
considering an average person goes through about 80 gallons of water
per day with all of their washing, drinking, cooking, etc, that 14
gallons you should have stored for emergencies, isn't going to last
very long.

Next, from now on when you go
shopping, instead of buying one can of corn, one can of tomato soup,
or one box of something, buy two and tuck one away on your food
storage shelf. If you will do this as often as money permits, you
will soon see your storage start to grow. You will also begin to
change your mindset to thinking more to shopping sales, and thinking
ahead. Be a prayerful shopper and see what a difference that makes.
Your job is to ask, listen, then go and do. I recall keenly when I
started shopping the sales. I only had a small amount of money, but
I remember pasta coming on sale for like .50 cents a bag, (unheard
of any more), and I bought 50 bags of it. Yes, I am that person.
That meant I didn't get a few other things on my list that
particular time, but I didn't have to buy pasta until it came on
sale again. I would watch the sales, and buy in large quantities,
and eventually got to where I only had to buy certain things when
they came on sale. I find the cheapest places to buy things in
bulk, and I buy them in bulk. Get creative in your containers, ask
people to save you large glass jars, plastic ones, or buckets. Ice
cream stores always give away buckets. There are ways to make it
happen if you start to look for them.

That is how you begin. We will talk
more on emergencies and how to prepare for them in future issues, but
for now, I hope you just begin with what you can, these simple steps
that anyone can do. I promise you will be blessed because you are
being obedient.

October
To Do List

Each week set aside $2 for every
person in your home. This is just for having emergency cash on
hand. I have a large jar with the lid glued on, which all of my
change and everyone else's change often goes in this jar. Each week
I add to it, at least $2 for each person in my family.

14 gallons of water per person. Put
it somewhere. Be creative. I know you can do it.

This month, focus on gathering some
extra cleaning supplies. Things like a gallon of bleach, an extra
bottle of dish soap, an extra bottle or box of laundry soap, some
latex gloves, an extra box of trash bags (sturdy ones). An extra
bottle of all purpose cleaner like Mr. Clean or something. 12
cleaning cloths (reusable ones), any other cleaning supplies you
regularly use, buy one extra of each and set them aside on your food
storage shelves. Now you are one step closer and your shelves are
looking good!

Test smoke alarms, test fire
extinguisher, test carbon mono alarm, have a mock fire drill with
your family. If you have water storage that may need rotating, do it
now to keep it fresh for the winter months. I usually would rotate
mine every April and October, if I do it, which I don't always. I
have used water that has been store in bottles for a few years and
it is totally fine. Just remember never store these bottles on a
cement floor. I will get into that more in another newsletter, but
just know not to do it. Any toxins from the cement will leach into
the plastic and then into the water. Not good.

purchase home escape ladder or other
tools needed to make evac smoother, like something to break windows,
or whatever it might be

inventory toiletries

I am not going to tell you how much of
any one particular thing you should purchase. It will be different
for every household and family. Think through what your family uses
regularly and purchase and store accordingly. Watch for sales, and
if a good sale comes about, even if it isn't on the list, purchase
it. Each circumstance is different, just plan and work accordingly.

Home
Made Tortillas

2 cups flour – could be white, whole
wheat, or add in powdered dried vegetables, bean flour, flax, or
other ground grains. Black beans give a nice blackish blue color,
powdered tomatoes a nice red, and powdered spinach a green. Adding
in herbs and spices give nice freckled colors. Be creative with what
you have on hand and experiment.

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil

2/3 cup warm water

additional flour

Rub flour, salt and oil together with
your fingers until completely incorporated and fine crumbs form.
Pour water into dry ingredients and work it in with a fork. Dough
will be in large clumps. Sprinkle flour and knead until smooth,
about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 12 – 15 small balls about 2
inches in diameter. Set balls on a plate and cover with plastic
wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes or so. Roll out until thin,
rolling from the center to the outside. It may be helpful to toll
between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Bake on very hot, un-greased
griddle or fry pan until freckled, about 20 seconds on each side.
Serve warm.

Price
comparison is about 1/10 of the price of purchasing these in the
grocery store. Significant savings, much more healthy, and one step
closer to being self reliant.

Buckets
of Sprouts!!!

Opportunity
to prepare in January, a five gallon bucket of grains and seeds for
sprouting. We will be doing a bulk purchase and assembly of these.
I am working on a price and a list of what will be in it for sure,
and by next newsletter I will have this ready for certain, but for
now here is what it might look like.

I
am working on this, but will let you know more details on when,
where, and what exactly will be in it and how much it will be. Just
plan for it in January's budge if you are interested. And let me
know if you have a source for something specific or would like
something specific in it. It will be an opportunity for us all to
come together to create them and take them home.

Friday, September 2, 2016

One of the first things I like to teach people when it comes to food storage is: learn to make things for yourself. This is one of the key things to using your food storage. Running to the store every time you are out of a food item, gets really pricey, and really time consuming. There is a wonderful, fantastic tool called GOOGLE! I can find a recipe for almost anything I can imagine, by using google. Here are some of the things I have learned how to make on my own:

all kinds of breads

all kinds of noodles

sauces

desserts

wheat meat

tofu

canning

freeze drying

dehydrating

and so much more! In fact I will always look up a recipe or a way to do something, before I go and buy it. I must confess, people are always calling me for ideas, on this or that preparedness or food storage, and if I am not sure of the answer, while I have them on the phone, I will whip open my computer, and search for the answer while I am talking to them, and voila - they have their answer, when in all reality, they could have done the same thing. Now don't get me wrong, I love talking to people and solving problems, but google is a fantastic tool. I also have binders and books full of information that I have printed off, because I don't believe I will always have access to the computer.

So back to user friendly foods. Thanks Jocelyn for bringing it to my attention that most people don't think like I do. I know a few who do, and you know who you are, that's why we work well together. For example, I was asking a friend if she would share something made from beans for the preparedness fair coming up in October. Right there, she whipped out her phone and pinterest, and discovered you can make yummy smoothies using blended up white beans! Guess what we get to try at the preparedness fair?

Beans can be a daunting thing for some people to cook. They take a little preparation and time. Most people don't want to take that time. I love beans - being a vegetarian, I eat them often. I will spend a couple of days canning beans in jars, so they are ready to use at a moments notice. You do need to pressure can them, so not everyone can do this, but they can easily be cooked and slipped into ziploc baggies and frozen for quick use as well. A bottle of beans on my shelf maybe costs .20 cents compared to a can of beans from the store that is $2 or $3. Pretty cost saving.

I have made home made soups, stews, and meats canned in jars for quick meals. Seriously if my family went into my storage room and looked at buckets, bags or bins, they would starve before they figured out what to do with it all. When these things are ready made on the shelf, they beat any canned soups or stews hands down, and the nutritional value is by far better, with less preservatives and additives. Again, a bottle of soup for well under $1 to make will be over $3 again on the shelf. Groceries are not cheap, but home made things sure can be.

I have dried soups, rices, meals, and mixes in jars and large containers, with the recipes taped on the

outsides, for easy use as well. It also helps me at times I need a quick batch of cookies or muffins or whatever. I did the math one time for home made tortillas I made. 30 of them I guessed cost me about maybe 15 cents to make, and at the grocery store, over $2 for a pack of 10. Sure they take a bit of work and time, but save a lot of money.

User friendly foods take a little time to prepare, but save a ton of money, and use up your long term food storage. I can't express enough, how important it is for us to learn to use our food storage and learn to make things for ourselves. I am pretty confident that when the time comes for my family to live off our life sustaining foods, we will be able to do okay. Our meals won't change too much, and in fact it might be fun to see what else we can create.

Keep posted because I am going to do a series on User Friendly Foods, using Long Term Food Storage. I am working on it right now. Any thoughts? I will post recipes to share.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

What a world we are living in right now! I honestly don't know how someone can go through their days and not see signs of the times all around them, everywhere they look. But, sadly, many don't see it. I guess in some ways they choose not to see it. That makes life easier when they don't have to worry about it, or do anything about it.

I see it, and thus have been working on a project. We took out a set of stairs in our house, which created a

closet for a basement bedroom and this.....a pantry!We are not finished it yet, but I am so excited to fill these shelves. It ought to go a long ways to holding my three month supply of food.I also should share with you, what I have been working on with creating my three month supply of food. See you can create your own three month supply out of short term foods or longer term foods.Short term foods, like fresh tomatoes, can turn into three month supply by canning them. Long term foods like dried beans can turn into three month supply foods, by canning them. Frozen

chicken is a short term food, but when freeze dried, can turn into along term storage food. Flour on the shelf, when combined with the right ingredients, can turn into a mix that is easy to use, a three month supply food, instead of a longer term storage food.

Why would I go through the work to do all of this? Because as a mother, and the chief cook in the house, I realize that I am pretty much the only one that can walk into my storage room full of beans and flour, and figure out a great tasting meal out of all the stuff on the shelves. Everyone else would stand there with their mouths open, and watering, and not know what to do with all of the longer term food storage items.Thus, a three month supply of ready to eat, or easy to prepare meals. You know when you go to

dried beans vs canned ready to use

a craft store (ladies), and they have all the patterns free, stuck to the sides of the shelves, where you can take it and add to your collection, so you come back and buy their stuff? Well, I am also going to do that in my new pantry and long term storage room, only with recipes on how to do what. I am going to have recipes taped to the walls, or shelves, on how to use certain items. I think that is a big part of turning a long term storage item, into a three month storage item. Somebody has got to know what to do with it other than myself, in my household. Now I should give some of them credit, they could do it, but in all reality, they probably wouldn't want to. It takes work, thinking, and planning to use long term food storage items. So I turn them into more user friendly items.

So next time you are working on pantry items, or long term storage items, think........"How can I turn this into an item that will be more user friendly for my family?" "How can I make it something that they can open and use instead of running to the store to buy it?"

Long term storage - not so user friendly - unless you have some knowledge and training

Sunday, August 14, 2016

You got it! Let's be realistic, in a few things today! I can no longer sit still and not write what I am thinking, than I could go sky diving. And believe me I would never go sky diving, I am terrified of heights! There is just too much going on in the world to sit still and pretend that we can just sit back and enjoy life, when the fact is, inside of me is screaming out to people to get prepared! Look around! Get prepared!

Another thing to be realistic about, is that I love my blog Today While The Sun Shines, it being the first ever blog I started writing. It has been a great place for me to learn and grow, not only in preparedness, but in my writing and blogging hobby as well. It has spread far and wide and has been read in many places in the world, and I can't just quit and ignore her. Chuckles here. So I need to keep writing on Today, about what is happening Today!But let's get realistic about what is going on in the world, for just a minute here okay? Do you watch the news? I know it is kind of depressing watching it, but perhaps next time you watch it, look at it with eyes to see the signs of the times. Watch it with the attitude of watching for those signs, you know the ones that tell us what is to shortly come to pass.Only a few short years ago, I used to like to sit down every few months and look back and make a list of all the crazy things that were going on in the world, and I could actually do it. Now, being realistic there is so much chaos and destruction, and war, and everything going on, I would have to do it on a daily basis, just to try and keep up with what is happening, and there is just no possible way I would be able to do it.

Every day we hear of wars, natural disasters, terrorism, disease, civil unrest, economic collapse, famine, wonders in the sky, and everywhere in the world, you name it, you will hear about it. Without a doubt if you can think of it, you will likely hear about it happening that day, either on the news, or by a google search that would show you. Without a doubt, we are seriously a world that is in chaos, a world that has reached a tipping point, a world that has ripened. That's realistic.

Yet, still there are those whom I talk to who seem to want to turn a blind eye to it all and pretend it isn't really as bad as it is. Open the blinders people, and look around! It is as bad as it seems, and we had better get prepared, and quick!Let's be realistic about history for a minute. Throughout the history of the world, we follow civilizations that have followed the pride cycle, that's what I call it. It is a rise and fall of civilizations. Once a civilization has become so wicked and prideful, they get destroyed, either

by war, famine, or some other way of the Lord cleansing them and compelling them to be humbled. Then, they go on and live their lives for a few generations, doing pretty good, until all of a sudden they become prideful, selfish, and generally a wicked people again, and BAM! They get humbled again. If you look at this cycle, it has happened over and over throughout the history of the world as we know it. Now...........let's be realistic and take a big step back and look at the bigger picture of the world. Where do we sit, not only as a civilization, but the bigger step back, as the world. As a world of people where are we sitting in that pride cycle? And.... more importantly.... what happened when civilizations became so wicked and prideful, selfish and corrupt? They were compelled to be humbled by whatever means the Lord saw fit. BAM!As a world civilization, I believe we are there. We are going to be compelled to be humble. He is going to take care of it, if we won't do it ourselves, He will bring us to our knees. And it is happening everywhere we look around us.THAT'S REALISTIC! The scriptures warn us of many things. Some call it "judgement day" (I talked to someone just a couple of days ago that said this), some call it "the end of the world as we know it". I don't really care what you call it, as long as you see it happening, and do something about it. We are being warned, over and over.

Mark 13:8 For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers
places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

D&C88: 89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice
of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests,
and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their
bounds.

91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

Let's Be Realistic!

Get prepared! Get ready! And quit procrastinating, because it is happening with or without you!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

I am still posting on all things Preparedness, but have recently started a new site, for the purposes of my new church volunteer position, and to do it properly, it required that I start a new site. I may occasionally return to post here on my very first and much loved "Today While The Sun Shines", but for now, you can find some great info, and much help, here on Inch by Inch Preparedness.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

So excited to be gathering my extended family together over the next week to discuss preparedness. I have been feeling it keenly, the need to get organized, and I am not sure where I am going with this post, but I am hoping to get some insight. You see, I want to organize my family in such a way that when disaster or need strikes, we are all prepared to act, not react.

I am hoping that we can each take on a different role in the arena of preparedness. There are several main areas like: food storage, heating, lighting, shelter, water, financial, communications, safety, and a few sub categories. What I would like to see is each adult take one area, do all of the research they can, and report back with information, bulk buys, how to projects we can do together, and this kind of thing. In my mind I can see great work days, with bonding experiences ahead. I am really actually stoked to be doing it.

I remember a few years back, I found a website of a family who had been doing a similar thing. I have wanted to do it since that time, but never really got around to it. Now it is time, and I have lost the website, so I am winging it. Therefore, any ideas or suggestions would be of great help.

I want to create a blog or website where we can each share our information with each other and with any whom want to join or learn from us.

I am not sure where this is all going to lead, but as soon as I get it figured out, I will post it here and share.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

I know in the world today, extremes are the norm. Extremes in preparedness are no different. You have those who are extreme preppers, who believe in the zombie apocalypse, the end times, and all things that are extreme. They have their bunkers, their closets full of munitions, and all thing doomsday. I have been accused at time of being a fanatic about preparedness, but I won't go as far as saying I am an extremist. But hey, I guess it depends on what you are comparing to.

There are those at the opposite end of the spectrum and are extreme the other way. They don't believe

anything disastrous is ever going to happen. Nothing will strike where they live, no natural disasters, no economic related stuff, no terrorist related stuff, no man made disasters, or anything. I like to call these ones extremists too, because they believe all is well in zion and they don't have anything to worry about.

There are those who fall into the unprepared category on a different level, because they just go on living their lives, oblivious to what is happening in the world around them, and think that money will buy their way out of anything, or they don't see the need to prepare for anything. These people are actually more the norm than not. They count on the government to bail them out of disasters. They think if they live with their blinders over their eyes, then they won't see it, and won't have to prepare for it.

In all cases, these are extremes to some degree. Then there are those of us, who live in the real world. We see what is happening around us, through the entire world, and we are preparing for what will inevitably come our way, even though we don't know exactly what that might be. We see a variety of scenarios playing out, and worst case scenario, they will all happen at the same time. That is actually more likely. Kind of like the ripple effect, one thing will cause another, then another, and before you know it, we have some pretty big issues on our hands. I don't need to go into details on these things that are going to play out. Just watch the news with open eyes, and you will see them. Look around you at governments, economies, and life, and you will see them. They are lining up to be a perfect storm of ginormous proportions! Oh it is coming!

Where do you fit into the above groups of people? Are you prepared for emergencies to evacuate your home? I know people who have had to do this. Are you prepared for unemployment? Wowzers, that could happen to any of us at any time in today's economy. Are you prepared to feed your family, if there is no food, or if the prices of food get so stinkin high we can't buy it? Are you prepared for any medical emergencies your family may have? I could go on and on, but sometimes I feel like I am beating this one to death. Just get ready.

What if your water pipes break? Or freeze? Or the power goes out for a few days? Or if there is a tornado and you need to get downstairs fast? Or you should have a flashlight by your bed, but don't? Or you forgot to charge your cell phone and now there is no power? Or you forgot to keep your tank of gas on the top half full instead of the bottom half and now because of gas prices, there is a run on gas, or the trucks are not running so gas stations are running out of gas? Or you kept thinking about calling a family meeting to plan a bug out location or meeting location outside your home in case of fire or emergencies, but you kept putting it off, and now your home is on fire, what is everyone going to do? Or.....what if?

When you are falling, it is too late!

I could probably sit here and write for a couple of hours some of the scenarios that could play our in your life today, but I think I would be preaching to the choir. The choir is already converted. How to we get those we love to get involved, and get prepared, without sounding like those extremists? I don't know but I am going to be working on it from my end. I am organizing family groups, and meetings. We need a family plan, and I mean extended plan, not just my own little fam. What do you need? I need, for my own motivation, a group of like minded individuals that will work with me on things. I will need to organize that as well. It will help me keep motivated.

What can you do today to get motivated? Do whatever it takes my friends. Before it is too late and we no longer have time. When the emergency or disaster, or event is upon us, it is too late to get prepared, it is time to act. And how can we act if we are not ready for it?

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About Me

Hi there! I am a preparedness, herbalist, writing mom of six, grandmother of four boys and wife of 30 years, well almost! My life is about herbal medicine, writing, blogging, and home preparedness - and that's in all my spare time! Connect and Enjoy what I have to share throughout my blogs and my crazy life. I look forward to it!